The 17th chapter of
Isaiah is an overview of The Seventieth Week
of Daniel. It follows the Semitic
style of apocalyptic writing, which is found
throughout the Bible. This style of
writing first gives an overview of the main
events in a particular time frame, and then the
passage goes back and provides details during
the same time frame. The time frame
in Isaiah 17 is the seven year Tribulation
period. The first six verses provide an
overview of the entire period from the total
destruction of Damascus at the beginning to the
wine press of the wrath of God at the end.
Verses 7-9
begin the detailed portion of the passage, and
these three verses describe the Church in the
first half of the Tribulation period.
After Damascus is completely destroyed, and the
Firstfruits Rapture takes place (i.e., the
removal of the defender of Israel), the
remainder of the Church will suddenly take their
eyes off of their wealth and earthly things, and
they will look to Jesus Christ. Verses 10 and
11 provide details of the Jews during the seven
year period. The first half of the
Tribulation period shall appear to be a
wonderful time of planting with an expected
great harvest, but the last half of the
tribulation (i.e., the harvest) will end up as a
time of grief and sorrow for the Jews (i.e., the
time of Jacob’s trouble). Verses 12-14
provide details of the Gentiles (i.e., the
nations), and how the Gentiles cause massive
destruction in the world and attempt to destroy
and plunder Israel. The end for the
Gentiles who do this is their destruction in the
wine press of the wrath of God, and these
Gentiles will not be present when the millennial
kingdom starts (i.e., the morning). Chapters 18 and
19 are a continuation of the details during the
seven year Tribulation period, but this article
will not cover these details. Briefly,
chapter 18 explains what takes place in America
during the seven years, and chapter 19 covers
what takes place in Egypt. America was not
yet named when Isaiah wrote chapter 18, so
Isaiah simply described the nation as it would
be in the future. We will now
attempt a verse-by-verse exposition of chapter
17: (Isa 17:1 KJV) The burden of
Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from
being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
The Hebrew word
for burden means prophecy or doom. Thus,
this is a prophecy of the doom of
Damascus. Damascus shall cease from being
a city because it will become a pile of
rubble. The description appears to be that
of a nuclear blast that reduces the city to
rubble. This has never before taken place
in the history of Damascus. Damascus will
look like Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was
dropped. Syrians today are very proud of the
fact that Damascus is the oldest continuously
existing city in the world. The fact that
Damascus is the center of terrorism in the world
today makes it ripe for a nuclear attack by
America, or even Israel. It seems certain that
the current war on terrorism will result in the
destruction of Damascus just as it is described
in this prophecy. (Isa 17:2
KJV) The cities of Aroer are forsaken:
they shall be for flocks, which shall lie
down, and none shall make them afraid.Aroer is the
area east of the Jordan River just across from
Israel in modern day Jordan. There are
many Palestinians who live in this area due east
of the West Bank, and due south of
Damascus. All of the people who live in
these cities will leave or “forsake” these
cities so quickly that they will not even take
their flocks with them. These cities are
not destroyed like the city of Damascus, but it
is obvious that whatever destroyed Damascus will
suddenly become a strong threat to the people
living due south of Damascus. This threat
may very well be the nuclear radiation that will
drift southward in the dust cloud and wind that
comes out of the nuclear destruction of
Damascus. Bashar
al-Assad, President of Syria, finances and
supports terrorism, and Damascus is the center
of terrorism. It is clear that any
provocation by Syria in the direction of war
against Israel would result in a nuclear attack
by Israel on Damascus. Also, another major
terrorist attack against America would almost
certainly result in a nuclear attack on
Damascus. The next major terrorist attack on
America would almost certainly involve nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons, and the existing
policy of America’s government is to retaliate
against any biological, chemical or nuclear
attack with nuclear weapons. Any retaliation by
America would have to be against the
headquarters of terrorism, and that would be
Damascus. The
destruction
of Damascus will be the major event just
before the removal of the Firstfruits in the
Church and the appearance of Antichrist to the
world. (Isa 17:3 KJV) The fortress also
shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from
Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall
be as the glory of the children of Israel,
saith the LORD of hosts. This verse
alludes to the Firstfruits Rapture of the
Church, which is described in detail in the New
Testament. The Hebrew word for fortress means
defender. The Hebrew word for cease means
to be removed, taken away, or to rest (i.e., to
be made to cease from labor). Thus, the
first clause in this compound sentence states,
“The defender shall also be removed or taken
away from Israel and shall enter into
rest.” It is no secret that the faithful
Christians in the Church are the defenders of
Israel. It is the faithful in the
Church who stand up for Israel, pray for Israel,
and do everything they can to watch over and
protect Israel. This is in obedience to
the command of God as given in the following
Scripture verse: (Gen 12:3 KJV) And I (God) will
bless them that bless thee (Israel), and curse
him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed. At the same
time that the defender is taken away from
Israel, the kingdom is taken away from
Syria. Thus, the order of events appears
to be (1) Damascus will be destroyed with a
nuclear missile or bomb and the inhabitants of
Northern Jordan will flee the nuclear dust
cloud, (2) the Firstfruits Rapture will take
place, (3) Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi
Arabia will unify against the Western world and
employ the oil weapon against America and the
other western countries. These five Arab
countries will almost certainly make up the
Leopard with four wings on its back described in
Daniel 7. The Leopard with four wings on
its back only has four heads. It appears
that the nation without a head will be either
Iraq or Syria. Please see my article Four Beasts
out of the Sea for a full discussion
on Daniel 7. The last part
of verse 3 above speaks of the remnant of Syria
who survive the nuclear devastation. Their
glory shall be as that of Israel, and the
implication is that this glory is nonexistent.
(Isa 17:4 KJV) And in that day it
shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob
shall be made thin, and the fatness of his
flesh shall wax lean. This verse is
referring to the time of Jacob’s trouble during
the last half of the seven-year tribulation
period. “In that day” is referring to the
Day of the Lord, which takes place on the earth
during the last half of the tribulation
period. The only difference between the
Day of the Lord and the Day of Christ is the Day
of the Lord takes place on the earth as a time
of darkness and destruction, and the Day of
Christ takes place in heaven as a time of
rejoicing by the Church, since all of the Church
will be in heaven around the throne. It is during
the Day of the Lord that all nations will come
against Israel and two-thirds of the nation of
Israel will be destroyed. Before the Day
of the Lord can take place on the earth, the Day
of Christ, or the Main Harvest Rapture of the
Church must take place. The Main Harvest
Rapture of the Church is described in the
following verse. [Note: It
is important to understand that in typology,
grain such as wheat, corn, and barley typify the
Church, since the home of the Church is not on
the earth. These grains are annuals and
they are only temporary. The Olive tree
typifies Israel. Olive trees are firmly
attached by deep roots to the earth, and they
grow to be very old. Grapes typify the
Gentiles as grape vines are also perennials that
are firmly attached to the earth. The
following Scriptures address the Church, Israel,
and the Gentiles using these types.] (Isa 17:5
KJV) And it shall be as when the
harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth
the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he
that gathereth ears in the valley of
Rephaim. This verse
depicts the Main Harvest Rapture of the
Church. The Harvestman is Jesus Christ and
He gathers the stalks of grain. This
gathering is a complete harvest of the stalks of
grain. In addition, he reaps the heads
(i.e., ears) of grain by placing them under his
arm and mowing off the heads. The picture
is that of a complete harvest of the stalks of
grain with the heads of grain being separated
from the chaff at the same time that the harvest
takes place. In addition, there is no
regard for picking and choosing stalks of grain
where the heads of grain are ripe.
Everything is harvested whether or not the heads
are mature. This is in clear contrast with the
Firstfruits Rapture of the church, when only the
ripened or mature heads of grain are harvested.
This Main
Harvest Rapture of the Church is further
described as being similar to the harvest of the
heads of grain in the valley of Rephaim.
The valley of Rephaim is a rich, fertile valley
southwest of Jerusalem reaching to
Bethlehem. The valley is ideal for the
growing of grain. The harvests are
plentiful and the whole valley is harvested at
once. This verse is a perfect depiction of
the Main Harvest Rapture of the Church. (Isa 17:6
KJV) Yet gleaning grapes shall be left
in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two
or three berries in the top of the uppermost
bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful
branches thereof, saith the LORD God of
Israel. This verse
describes what is left after the grain
harvest. When the grain (i.e., the Church)
has been completely harvested, there is still
left the grape gleanings and the olive
threshing. The grape gleanings refer to
the Gentiles who are saved during the seven year
tribulation period, and they enter into the
earthly aspect of the kingdom. The olive
threshing refers to Israel in the last half of
the tribulation period. There will only be
a remnant of Jews left that survives the time of
Jacob’s trouble, but they enter into the earthly
aspect of the kingdom. Those at the top of
the tree seems to portray those who enter into
the highest level of the earthly aspect of the
kingdom, and those on the outer branches seems
to portray those who enter the second level of
the earthly aspect of the kingdom. The above verse
ends the overview
of Daniel’s seventieth week. The
following verse goes back to the beginning of
the passage and begins giving details of what
takes place during the time covered by the
overview. Verses 7-9 describe the reaction of the
Church to the destruction of Damascus
and the removal or taking away of the
Firstfruits at the Separation. (Isa 17:7
KJV) At that day shall a man look to
his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect
to the Holy One of Israel.At the time
that Damascus is completely destroyed and the
Firstfruits of the Church are removed, the
Christian in the Church left behind upon the
earth will suddenly have regard for God, and his
spiritual faculties will begin to pay attention
to the things of God, and he will learn about
the Holy One of Israel. Of course, the
Holy One of Israel is Jesus Christ. (Isa 17:8 KJV) And he shall not
look to the altars, the work of his hands,
neither shall respect that which his fingers
have made, either the groves, or the images.
The Christian
who has been left behind will suddenly realize
that all of the things that he had put ahead
of God are no longer important.
Possessions and wealth that Christians spent a
lifetime seeking will no longer have
relevance. The “groves” are the images of
Astarte, and the “images” are the images of Baal
and/or Tammuz. This most likely pertains
to the church of Thyatira (i.e., the Catholic
Church) who is big into the use of images in
their worship services. Mariolatry is
actually worship of Astarte. The image of Baal,
the Sun god, is also seen in the sacred trees
that are used as images of the resurrection of
the Sun god. These trees are today called
Christmas trees. There are many
pagan practices in the Church that are
abominations to God. These rituals will
suddenly have no meaning when Christians
suddenly realize that many faithful Christians
have gone to be with the Lord, and they have
been left behind. (Isa 17:9
KJV) In that day shall his strong
cities be as a forsaken bough, and an
uppermost branch, which they left because of
the children of Israel: and there shall be
desolation.In that day
after Damascus has become a total ruin and the
Firstfruits have been taken to heaven, the
Christian will forsake the strong cities.
This means that the Christian will turn away
from the things of the world, and he will
concentrate on spiritual things. The
forsaking of the cities is compared to the
forsaking of the bough of a tree or the
uppermost branch of a tree. This analogy
is made because the Church as a whole has become
a powerful entity in the world system. The
New Testament compares the Church to a mustard
bush that grew into a tree and this is not
good. God never intended for the Church to
become a powerful entity in the world. The
Church is supposed to be like wheat with shallow
roots into the earth, but it has become like a
tree with deep roots into the earth. The
Christians who will be left behind are those who
have important positions in the Church.
They are the big branches that support the
tree. The uppermost branch represents
those Christians who are in the highest levels
of importance in the Church. After the
Firstfruits Rapture these important positions
in the Church will be abandoned, and the
Church as an organization will fall
apart. Church leaders will get serious
about serving the Lord and forget their
important positions and their big
salaries. The Church will be greatly
persecuted, and will no longer be a world
power. All of this will take place
because of the children of Israel. The
salvation and conversion of the 144,000 Jewish
Firstfruits will very likely play a major role
in this great turnaround by the Church, and
this verse alludes to this revival of Israel
as the catalyst for the revival of the Church.Verses 10 and
11 that follow address the Jews in the
seven-year tribulation period, and they provide
an account of what happens to the Jews during
this seven year period. (Isa 17:10 KJV) Because thou hast
forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast
not been mindful of the rock of thy strength,
therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants,
and shalt set it with strange slips: As the prophet
to Israel, Isaiah now addresses his people, the
Jews, in the future, and tells them that they
have forgotten the God of their salvation.
Salvation is of the Jews. The Jews have
not only forgotten God the Father, but they have
not been mindful of the Rock of their
strength. The Rock of their strength is,
of course, Jesus Christ. The great
majority of Jews in the world today are not
concerned with God, and they have rejected Jesus
Christ. The Jews have been brought back to
the land of Israel in unbelief in God.
They were brought back to the land because of
the crisis of the holocaust. In the middle
of the tribulation, another crisis will bring
them back to a belief in God the Father.
Armageddon and the Return of Jesus Christ in
power and glory will bring them to a belief in
Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Israel has
planted charming plantations with strange vines
since they have been back in the land. The
strange vine means they have not relied on the
True Vine, which is Jesus Christ. Israel
is an exporter of fruits and vegetables to
Europe and other countries, and their
developments and progress in Botany is
amazing. They have reclaimed much of the
desert with new methods of agriculture, and they
grow fruits and vegetables in the sand with
brackish water. They have hybrid plants
that can grow and flourish on brackish water,
and they have special watering systems to
trickle water and keep the sand moist so large
fruits and vegetables can grow. However,
there is a consequence to forgetting God and His
Son Jesus Christ, and it is during the
Tribulation (i.e., the harvest) that Israel will
suffer for their forgetfulness and their failure
to be mindful of Christ. (Isa 17:11 KJV) In the day shalt
thou make thy plant to grow, and in the
morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish:
but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of
grief and of desperate sorrow. Even though
Israel has been so successful in replanting
trees in Israel, and in growing farm produce,
Israel will become a harvest mound or heap in
the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
This is the time of Jacob’s trouble in the last
half of the tribulation period. This ends
the brief detailed account of Israel in the
seven year tribulation period, and verses 12-14
following address what happens to the Gentiles
during the tribulation period.

(Isa 17:12 KJV) Woe to the
multitude of many people, which make a noise
like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing
of nations, that make a rushing like the
rushing of mighty waters! Isaiah
pronounces a woe against the Gentiles of the
world. The exclamation of “Woe” is an
expression of pain, and it is followed by the
proclamation of the judgment of wrath. The
Hebrew word for noise means the nations will
be troubled, and they will be in an uproar like
the raging of the sea. The Hebrew word for
rushing means
destruction like the destruction of mighty
waters. In the last several years we have
seen how destructive the rushing of waters can
be with the floods that have affected the whole
world. This has been just a sample of the
destruction that is going to take place during
the Tribulation period when the Gentile nations
become a tumultuous uproar with the destructive
use of nuclear weapons.

(Isa 17:13
KJV) The nations shall rush like the
rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke
them, and they shall flee far off, and shall
be chased as the chaff of the mountains
before the wind, and like a rolling thing
before the whirlwind.The Gentile
nations shall destroy the world like the
destruction of many great floods, but God will
rebuke them severely. The nations will
attempt to hide from the face of God and to flee
from His wrath, but they will not be able to
escape His judgments. They will be caught
up in His judgments like the chaff of the
mountains are caught up in the wind, and they
will be whipped about and destroyed like an
object that is caught up in a tornado. The
Hebrew word for chased means to run after with
hostile intent. (Isa 17:14
KJV) And behold at eveningtide
trouble; and before the morning he is not.
This is the portion of them that spoil us,
and the lot of them that rob us.The two Hebrew
words for at eveningtide means at the end or the
terminus of the period of darkness there will be
great terror and destruction. The terminus
of the darkness is the period of time between
3:00AM and 6:00AM. This is the darkest
part of the night and represents the last half
of the seven year tribulation period. The
period between Midnight and 3:00AM represents
the first half of the Tribulation period when
God has turned the Christians over to Antichrist
to be persecuted. The last half of the
Tribulation period is when the wrath of God is
unleashed upon the Gentile nations. It is
also the time of Jacob’s trouble when the Jews
will be severely persecuted by Antichrist.
The morning
represents the initiation of the millennial
kingdom. Before the kingdom is
implemented, the Gentile nations who came to
destroy and plunder Israel at Armageddon will be
destroyed themselves, and they will be no
more. Individual Gentiles who assisted
Israel during the Tribulation period will enter
into the earthly aspect of the kingdom.
These Gentiles are the sheep in the sheep and
goat judgment of Matthew 25. The goats are
the ones who lose their inheritance in the
earthly aspect of the kingdom.